Dr. Dwight McKenna's experience as an art lover was similar to that of many African-Americans. He appreciated the artistry of the European masters that dominated the museums he visited, but he "didn't like the fact that there wasn't much to relate to for American citizens of color."

He felt there were black artists out there who didn't get the exposure they deserved. So he did something about it.

This weekend (Feb 22-23), the George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art hosts a grand reopening with a reception and community fair.

STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGERThe 1860s mansion that now houses The George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art was in ruins before its renovation in 2002. It suffered new damage during Hurricane Katrina.

The museum is housed in a stately 1860s Greek Revival mansion just off of St. Charles Avenue that was once the home of a riverboat captain. The raw brick interior walls, 10,000 square feet of glinting wood floors, and abundant natural light make it one of the most attractive showplaces in the city. But that wasn't the case when McKenna, a New Orleans-born physician, bought the building for $50,000 in the late 1990s.

He describes the old mansion as a virtual ruin, the haunt of neighborhood vagrants, partially destroyed by fire, lacking floors or plumbing. The renovation, he said, cost $800,000 and was finished in 2002.

Though the McKenna Museum opened soon after, the public was just becoming aware of it when Hurricane Katrina struck.

McKenna, 66, said he can't remember the first piece of art he bought about 30 years ago, but says he purchased it for the same reason he eventually bought the rest of his 70-piece collection: "It made me feel something, related to some experience in my life, moved me some way."

Over the years, McKenna has acquired gems such as a pair of 1837 medical illustrations by Jules Lion, patriotic World War II paintings by William Edouard Scott, a small Clementine Hunter, and contemporary works by artists such as Ulrick Jean-Pierre. He does not restrict his collection to black artists, including works by anyone who movingly depicts African-American life.

STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER'Marie Laveau Evoking the Spirit of Love' by Haitian artist Ulrick Jean-Pierre is among the permanent collection at the museum.

McKenna said he's never thought of art as an investment and has never resold a painting. But when he bought a valuable landscape by African-American master Henry Ossawa Tanner 15 years ago, he realized he had stepped up in the ranks of collectors. It was then he first considered a permanent showplace.

"I began having the nascent thoughts to develop something people could come and see, " he said.

McKenna was in the museum, doing his best to protect his collection, when Katrina's winds tore away part of the roof, and a portion of the second story wall collapsed. Damage to the building made the paintings vulnerable, so McKenna stacked smaller pieces in his convertible and drove through the chaos to a safer building on Tchoupitoulas Street. He later hired a truck to move larger canvases.

After $450,000 in repairs, the museum reopened informally in the fall of 2007.

The McKenna Museum is dedicated to the doctor's late parents, George McKenna, an economics professor and dean of faculty at Xavier University, and Leah McKenna, principal of Rivers Frederick Junior High School. In the spirit of education, McKenna hopes the museum will expand in the future to include an amphitheater for teaching and lectures.

"I was looking for a way to honor their memory, " McKenna said of his parents.

The museum is funded almost entirely by McKenna, who hired Shantrelle P. Lewis to direct the operation in 2006 -- though the doctor retains certain duties, including mowing the grass. Lewis was born in New Orleans, has a master's degree in African American Studies from Temple University and worked at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER ZDONShantrelle P. Lewis

During a museum preview last week, Lewis said the museum had recently hosted its first student tour since the hurricane for seventh- to 12th-graders from McDonogh 35 College Preparatory High School.

"They were amazed to see art by African-Americans, " she said.

THE GEORGE AND LEAH MCKENNA

MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART

GRAND RE-OPENING

What: The Lower Garden District museum reopens with two exhibitions -- "Glass Menagerie: Works on Reverse Glass" by J'Renee and "Santiago de Cuba: Rebirth & Congas en la Calle, " a collection of photos taken of the Rebirth Brass Brand as they performed in Cuba -- as well as the permanent collection.

When: A free reception tonight (Feb.22) from 6 to 9 features music by trumpeter Troy Sawyer and pianist Theron Lewis. The celebration continues Saturday (Feb. 23) from 11 a.m. to 4 with food, storytelling and children's crafts workshops, and the "Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fair, " where alumni from Howard, Spelman, Morehouse, Tuskegee, Southern, Texas Southern and Xavier universities will be on site to talk to high school students.